WISDOM = That which can be effectively applied to gain what is desired and valuable.
Wisdom is about gaining the ability to effectively generate one's life and gain the highest happiness. (It is not some studious endeavor for its own sake - it is only for the purpose of creating more true Life Value. Gaining wisdom is what allows one to gain the ability of "Life Value Productivity".)
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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE!
We often confuse the "getting of wisdom" with some intellectual or metaphysical pursuit. But the latter approaches often tend to be unwise, in that they are "nice" to do but often ineffectual. People also think it is an wimpy or impractical approach to life, but that is because they misunderstand and have not really thought it out (which, of course, is unwise). Some people see it as a distraction from life itself, wandering out into the territory of "New Age" or nutty imbalance in life - but it is the very opposite of that! Done right, it is THE most effective thing to learn and implement into our lives. I repeat: THE most effective thing you can do is to learn and implement wisdom into our lives.
The only test of what one does, on this site, is "does it work to create the best result?"
Therefore, I modified the title of this page to add "practical". However, that should be implicit in the definition of wisdom, for something is not true wisdom if it does not result in getting the best/better results in life! And "practicing" that which is wise will, indeed, get you "practical results." And, of course, to practice and implement anything in life one must learn what works and how to work it in life - and here is where the path begins...
Read this page and then get on "The Path" to your greatest life!
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AM I WISE?
The question: "Am I wise?"
The answer: "You mean "do I have sufficient wisdom", as you have wisdom you are not wisdom itself. (See Who I Am, Actually.)
Well, you can answer your question for yourself.
The question to ask is "am I getting the results I want in life such that I am happy?"
If the answer is "yes", you have reached true wisdom. If the answer is "no, but I think I am wise", you have not reached true wisdom. True wisdom is that which creates the desired results in life such that you are happy ongoingly as a background in which you 'hold' life.
As you acquire more and more wisdom it gets easier and easier to get what you want out of life. Each moment invested in attaining wisdom pays off many fold in terms of happiness and satisfaction in life.
(See the additional distinction at the end of this piece.)
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WISDOM IS
1. Learning "How things actually work" (getting rid of misunderstandings and lack of knowing)
2. Learning how to work them in the most workable way
3. Applying the "wise process" to make key distinctions (see Wisdom Process).
4. Harvesting the knowledge and understanding
Stupidity is
Doing the work without knowing how - taking alot more energy.
The payoff for learning:
Saved time (huge compared to effort)
More of what one wants in life (and far fewer problems!)
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THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION OF YOUR LIFE
Wisdom.
Few go about acquiring it systematically and effectively - but isn't this. logically, THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE SKILL to acquire?!
It determines all of the quality and composition of what life is about.
Certainly we want to spend the time to find out at least, herein, what it actually is and how one can get it!
Then you can see why this is the most important decision that you'll make in your entire lifetime - as it is the determiner of your life!
What will you decide?
WHAT IS WISDOM?
Wisdom = the quality of being wise; power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding, etc.; good judgment, sagacity. A wise plan or course of action.
Also, for more perspective: "Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions (the "passions") so that universal principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one's actions. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true coupled with optimum judgment as to action.
True wisdom = Ability to get valued results! (Not some "intellectual" thing!)
D'ya think this might be of the highest importance in life? (Duh!)
THE GREATEST "SKILL" TO LEARN
"The greatest skill to learn is 'wisdom', which is the ability to use thinking and tools to make excellent decisions that make one highly happy in life. We unquestionably have the ability to develop that skill – and we need only start the process and continue on a good pace, as if your life depended on it (for it actually does, as the quality of life is life itself)."
I call it a "skill", rather than just accumulated wise knowledge, as it involves "an expertness that comes from training, practice, etc." The origin of the definition is "ability to separate", hence "discernment" (which is the ability to mentally separate one thing from another, to make distinctions).
In every great skill there is:
1. a process (a sequence of thinking or doing),
2. a vocabulary ("set of words to distinguish things more clearly"), and
3. the knowledge of relevant facts concerning how to apply the skill and what the effect is of doing different things.
Usually a skill is applied to "produce" or "cause" something in particular. The skill we are talking about here is then:
the skill to produce the true results one wants in life with the least effort.
On the basis of that we might more appropriately call this Life Wisdom. And the true result we want in life is happiness (see that section to see how it is defined), so Life Wisdom, and the learning of it, is the path to true happiness.
THE PATH TO WISDOM
Note that "thinking" and "learning" are all essential pathways to increasing one's wisdom and thus one's "power" in life. You'll want to read that overview. Also, a factor in any learning and thinking and so especially in acquiring wisdom is making Distinctions.
Meanwhile, read this piece, as it involves possibly the biggest decision you'll ever make in your life:
Why bother?
Where do we get it?
The enemies
The results
How not to do it
What level do you choose to stop at?
Read the above, then decide for yourself what you will do, other than considering this another good idea!
Actually, I shouldn't have to convince anyone of this, but people are not "clear" about the value of it, as they often engage in "emotional reasoning", resulting in their having beliefs that are not based on reality and workability.
Therefore, the path to wisdom starts at using effective thinking tools to determine what is true and workable and what is not. (D'ya think?! Duh!)
A block to going down the path is the false reasoning and false belief that "it'll be too much work; I've got to live life and get on with it!" That's like saying "I won't learn how to operate my new car, as I can just pull it with horses, which I am familiar with. Getting right to getting results (moving forward) will save me alot of time."
WHAT SHALL I DO NEXT?
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A little more "wisdom":
ON THE "TIME" IT TAKES TO LEARN
Einstein: The reason for time is so that everything does not happen at once.
In What Is Reality? it points out that in the physical world everything takes time, everything happens over time.
But somehow we want to be wise instantly or without using a substantial bit of time to "learn life". But life is complex and we need to learn the basics and then build them into ways of operating effectively in life. Though this "takes alot of time", it, seemingly ironically, ends up saving a huge amount of wasted and/or unpleasant time, such that we end up vastly ahead in life and with alot more spare time!
Since learning wisdom is a very large "project", it must begin right away and then done regularly in "small" (but not too small) steps - and then, perhaps seemingly miraculously, we find ourselves "suddenly" with a life that is literally transformed - the "new form" being that of doing what works best in life
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A few side notes:
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Not necessary to the conversation about this, but adding a distinction:
Conversation on one day: "You never tell me I am wise. Other people have said I am wise."
Conversation of the same person on another day: "I am so screwed up. I'll never be happy."
The problem in this conversation is that "being wise" is sought as a "condition" that gets approval, or a branding of "you're smart" or such, definitely on the "am I good enough?" spectrum. Operating from that viewpoint is "unwise" - and sucks one into a vicious circle that is totally fabricated and not useful - and definitely not wise!
